Ruthven at Hoxton Hall, 13/02/25

Debut album Rough & Ready makes itself felt in Hoxton's historic music hall

Hoxton Hall is a vibe. The grade II listed 1863 built music hall is a narrow beauty that extends and surges upwards into double cake-tiered splendour, enrobed with cast iron columns. If it weren’t Hackney, you could almost envision a New Orleans Bourbon Street saloon. That said, the stage is cosy. With drum kit, keyboard, electronic equipment, guitar, bass and four musicians crammed onto the diminutive platform, it gives the intimate charm of a Tiny Desk Concert.

The central figure of these musicians tonight is South London’s Sean Nelson, AKA Ruthven. Clad in a winning Arran knit jumper and coy disarming smile, the former firefighter is now here to fan the flames, with songs from his brilliant debut album, Rough & Ready. It is the second release of Jai Paul’s label, Paul Institute, after Fabiana Palladino’s acclaimed self-titled debut. This is something of a reintroduction for him, having released debut track ‘Evil’ back in 2017, his music career was kept by the wayside for a time due to some personal matters.

Fresh off of touring with Sampha earlier in 2024, thankfully it’s clear he’s got his mojo back. With influences as wide reaching as Prince and Marvin Gaye to Steely Dan and Air, his debut is a sensual melding of retro and contemporary sounds. The set opens, as does the album, with ‘Cautious’, in name and spirit, as the band tentatively bring us into their sonic realm with tin-can percussion, before the signature Paul-esque gyrating synths kick in. Previously released single ‘123 Days’ follows and the concentration in his performance is apparent. You can tell he’s still feeling out the live workings of these tracks, he wants to get it right.

His voice gets a workout on ‘I Can’t Go There’, and what a voice. There is much detail and power to the music itself but his voice is clearly the star of the show. The range and intricacy, the way it seems to bend the other instruments to its will, is mightily impressive. And when he really lets his falsetto fly, as on ‘Thru The Walls’, there is a catharsis that blazes through the room, which belies the shyness in his body language.

There is a clear confidence that builds throughout this compact, hour-long set however. You can sense him growing into the performance, embodying the alive versions of these songs, even cracking out a djembe with aplomb on album highlight, ‘Don’t Keep It To Yourself’. He brings the crowd down expertly in piano bliss with ‘The Window’, before a huge crowd reaction for 2018 single ‘Hypothalamus’, then neatly knocking them dead with album closer ‘Drive It’. The crescendo of the song so well received they do it twice. Hey, if it feels good, do it again.

There are consistent thematic tussles between restriction and letting go within the lyrics. Perhaps if he is able to break free, however that may be, it is easy to see far larger stages awaiting in the future, ones where you’re not concerned to move for fear of knocking equipment over, ones where thousands of adoring fans scream back your lyrics in the glorious sunshine: “Don’t keep it to yourself no more, don’t keep it to yourself no more”.